Kobe Bryant’s pilot received clearance to fly in poor weather before crash

By Ian Duncan, Luz Lazo, Justin George and Rick Maese

Jan. 27, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. GMT-3

The helicopter pilot flying Kobe Bryant, the basketball star’s daughter and six other passengers Sunday grappled with poor weather, asking at one point for special permission to fly by sight in worse than normal visibility, but he displayed no signs of concern in his communications with air traffic controllers.

Shortly after he got special clearance to continue through controlled airspace, he veered from Highway 101 below and crashed into the Calabasas, Calif., hills. All nine onboard were killed.

On Monday, the investigation got underway, with a team from the National Transportation Safety Board arriving at a crash site guarded against curious eyes by sheriff’s deputies on horseback, as the sports world continued to mourn one of its greats.

The poor weather will be one dimension of the crash investigation – and investigators asked the public to send them photos showing conditions at the time – but the pilot’s record and the helicopter’s maintenance history will also be part of the review.

“We are not just focusing on weather,” NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy said. “We look at man, machine and the environment, and weather is just a small portion of that.”

In air traffic control records reviewed by The Washington Post, the pilot requested permission to fly under the special conditions near Burbank Airport. Homendy said the pilot circled for 12 minutes until the approval came.

On the records reviewed by The Post, the Burbank controller responds that it will be a few moments and asks the pilot to hold. Seconds later, the controller tells the pilot that he can plan to transition to the north side of Van Nuys Airport. He tells the pilot several departures are coming off a runway and to “expect to follow the I-5 north and cross that way.”

Disponível em: https://www.washingtonpost.com. Acesso em: 29 jun. 2020.

O mundo dos esportes ficou estarrecido com a morte precoce da estrela da NBA Kobe Bryant num acidente de Helicóptero na cidade de Los Angeles. De acordo com a matéria divulgada acima, as investigações sobre o acidente